Progress 09/01/18 to 08/31/23
Outputs
Target Audience:Activities for the grant term focus on promoting a practical level of food literacy by providing teachings and activities that enhance food security for youth, families, and community. Educational outreach focuses on local and traditional foods and the arts delivered in a culturally relevant context. Activities include: • Monthly community food and arts gatherings that are family-centered and youth supported • Annual seasonal camps offered in collaboration withcommunity members, elders, clients ofhealth and social services, Wauben School Forest,andlocal partners: White Earth Public Health, 4-H, University of Minnesota, and White Earth Natural Resources Changes/Problems:The COVID pandemic and leave of one of our program partners necessitated a change in the number and type of activities offered as it took time to redirect and develop safety protocols. As a result, only outdoor activities were held. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?• ServSafe Renewal Certification, 09/10/2019-09/11/2019 • Virtual Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialist (ADCES20) Annual Conference. 8/13/2020-8/16/2020 and 9/17/2020 9/18/2020. (36.5 CEUs) • FALCON 2019: 10/25/2019-10/28/2019 • Bullrush Mat Weaving, 11/25/2019 • Corn Nixtamalization Process 01/14/20 • Food Justice workshop. 1/21/2020-1/22/2020 • Tortilla Making 01/27/2020 • NIFA Program Management-Webinar 01/30/2020 • Native Arts Convening. 2/5/2020-2/8/2020 • Culture Conference Medicinal Teas. 2/11/2020 • Hypertension and Lipid Management- A Patient Centered Approach to CDV Risk Reduction. 2/13/2020 (1 CEU) • Non-Insulin Medications for Hyperglycemia Treatment in Type 2 Diabetes. 2/26/2020 (1 CEU) • Native Centered Nutrition. 3/11/2020 • Mindful Eating Basics. 3/4/2020 (1 CEU) • Indigenous Farming Conference. 3/6/2020-3/8/2020 • Diabetes Education: New and Innovative Tools from DDTP. 3/18/2020 (1 CEU) • Deep Winter Greenhouse Growing (1). 5/28/2020 • Immune Health and COVID 19. 5/29/2020 (1 CEU) • Deep Winter Greenhouse Growing (2). 6/2/2020 • Deep Winter Greenhouse Farm Scale (1). 6/3/2020 • Deep Winter Greenhouse Farm Scale (2). 6/5/2020 • Individualizing Care for People with Progressive Kidney Disease. 7/8/2020 (1 CEU) • Certified Food Protection Manager. Renewed 8/31/2020 (4 CEUs) 2019-20 • Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialist virtual conference • Renew state food managers certification • CYFAR Grant Writing Workshop • FALCON conference • Your Soil - Three Essential Components of Soil Health • Resetting the Food System from Farm to Fork • Sustainable Farming & Ranching in a Hotter, Drier Climate • Soil Health • Restoring Health Through Sustainable Food • Five Tenets of Soil Health • IHS Diabetes Care and Outcomes Audit 2020 Results • Microbiology and Composting • How to: Zoom Training • Cover Crops and Indigenous Corn • How Microbes Protect Plants • Sustainable Farming Association Soil Health • Soil Food Web • ACE Training • Intertribal Food & Ag Conference via Zoom • Adaptive Grazing and Silvopasture • Soil Health for Fruits and Vegetables • Soil Health Cover Crops • Distinguishing Urban Extension in the System Landscape • Emerging Research Links Gut Microbiome Alterations with Metabolic Syndrome • Farming in the World of Shifting Weather Patterns • Diabetes and Oral Health • North Central Region Mini-Land Grant Zoom Conference • Acres USA Virtual Soil Conference 2020-21 • Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialist virtual conference • Renew state food managers certification • CYFAR Grant Writing Workshop • FALCON conference • Your Soil - Three Essential Components of Soil Health • Resetting the Food System from Farm to Fork • Sustainable Farming & Ranching in a Hotter, Drier Climate • Soil Health • Restoring Health Through Sustainable Food • Five Tenets of Soil Health • IHS Diabetes Care and Outcomes Audit 2020 Results • Microbiology and Composting • How to: Zoom Training • Cover Crops and Indigenous Corn • How Microbes Protect Plants • Sustainable Farming Association Soil Health • Soil Food Web • ACE Training • Intertribal Food & Ag Conference via Zoom • Adaptive Grazing and Silvopasture • Soil Health for Fruits and Vegetables • Soil Health Cover Crops • Distinguishing Urban Extension in the System Landscape • Emerging Research Links Gut Microbiome Alterations with Metabolic Syndrome • Farming in the World of Shifting Weather Patterns • Diabetes and Oral Health • North Central Region Mini-Land Grant Zoom Conference • Acres USA Virtual Soil Conference 09/20/21 Great Lakes Food Sovereignty Symposium via Zoom 09/30/21 Economics of Soil Health Systems on 100 Farms 10/07/21 Seed Saving for Long Term Preservation How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Extension has regular meetings with partners, at which goals, activities, experiences, and plans are shared. Partners include: University of MN, 4-H (Mahnomen & White Earth) and SNAP-Ed; the Mahnomen County Garden Club; White Earth Wellness, SNAP-Ed, White Earth Community Farmers' Market; White Earth Natural Resources Department, Ag Program/White Earth Food Sovereignty Initiative (WFSI), Gizhiigin Arts Center and Extension monthly reports are shared with the WETCC President and Board of Trustees. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
2018-19 Objective 1: Making sauerkraut, pickled carrots, no-knead bread, and natural teas Traditional ways of preparing foods and community-based traditional foods cook-off Making handmade items for working with food, such as aprons, potholders, and oven mitts Online video created in collaboration with one of our partners demonstrating how to prepare a turkey dinner using a meal kit offered through White Earth Natural Resources Dept. WETCC student learning activities: making apple butter and pickles, planting garlic, and transplanting strawberries, and dandelion salve making Objective 2: 2 canning and 1 deer processing demonstrations for White Earth Wellness Program staff Dear processing and canning demonstration by professional butcher and staff nutritionist White Earth Natural Resources Department-Ag Program at WETCC Extension: learning the process of Corn Nixtamalization and using corn to make tortillas Natural teas and wild foods and medicine gathering workshops on the reservation in partnership with U of MN and White Earth 4-H Objective 3: Meetings with program partners from Mahnomen 4-H/SNAP and White Earth 4-H from the U of MN to discuss a 'Food Literacy Collaborative' to engage families in learning about healthy, local and traditional foods, where it comes from, how it's processed/prepared and sourcing food locally. 2019-2021 Objective 1: Due to pandemic restrictions, in lieu of in-person workshops, eight (8) pdfs were created and shared with community via postings to the Extension website: making plantain salve, sewing oven mitts, making elderberry syrup, no-knead bread, instant pot, squash, tomato seed saving, crockpot tomato paste, sauerkraut in a jar. The number of viewers of the instructional pdfs cannot be determined, as software does not currently support this function. Once restrictions eased in-person workshops resumed: wild foods harvesting (3 sessions), birch bark basket making, and willow basket making. Objective 1: (4) seasonal camps were held: Wild Rice Camp-Sept. 2020, Winter Camp-January 2021, Sugar Bush Camp-March/April 2021, Berry Camp-July 2021 Objective 2: Venison processing, corn processing with traditional mortar & pestle (via Zoom), wild food harvesting, making spaghetti sauce with chicken of the woods mushrooms (local partner, White Earth Public Health), cleaning fish, and (2) wild foods harvesting. 2021-22 Objective 1: Wild Rice Camp, 80 Participants Sugar Bush in partnership with White Earth 4H, 114 adults and youth Berry Camp, 61 participants 2021-22 Workshops: Seed Saving 101, 2 Participants Corn Processing-Pounding/Parching, 30 Participants Sausage Making 101, 20 Participants PDF-Dehydrating Apples PDF-Homemade Blueberry Jam PDF -Melons-Seed Saving PDF-Plum Sauce PDF-Plum BBQ Sauce Garden Pollinators, 12 Participants Birch Bark Harvesting, 15 Participants Local Foods: Strawberry Picking, 7 Participants Objective 2: ServSafe Training, 27 Participants Rib-Style Basketmaking, 7 Participants Gardening 101.A: Planting Instructions: Seeds & Seed Potatoes/Seed Saving/Gardening Advice Gardening 101.B: Planting Instructions: Plant Starts/Brassicas & Onions Gardening 101.C: Planting Instructions: Tomatoes & Peppers No knead Breadmaking, 4 Participants Total for Gardening 101: 269 Total Participation: 307 Objective 3: Partnership with Waubun School Forest to teach gardening, composting, and creating a food forest. Gardening 101 education - provided seed, plant starts and gardening education in partnership with WENRD, White Earth Public Health, UMN-Crookston, Knutson Store, GrowShed, and Dawn Juan's Nursery. Distribution Sites: Mahnomen-WETCC, Rice Lake, Naytahwaush, Pine Point, White Earth, Zerkel. Cool Season Plant Start Distribution: Brassicas & Onions Warm Season Plant Start Distribution: Tomatoes & Peppers Total Seed Packets Distributed: 11,000 Total Plant Starts Distributed: 5,515 Gardening 101-Community Support for Gardening Education with MOMs & NAPs Program, MAHUBE, Waubun Public School, Tree Guilds (Donated trees to create beginnings of a food forest) Gardening 101-Community Support for Gardening Education with White Earth Elderly Nutrition Program (ENP) Train-the-Trainer: Head Start program requested food preservation training for pickling, hot water bath, pressure canning, as well as seed saving. 2022-23 Objective 1: Art of storytelling of present to pre - colonial insights into how Indigenous Peoples cared for Earth, families, community, and land food systems, presented in the context of why these stories and history are still important. Most Ojibwe stories are told from fall through spring. Hundreds of pounds of squash, pumpkins and apples were gleaned from area produce farmers and distributed throughout the White Earth Indian Reservation along with instructions for preparing them for consumption. There are ceremonial thanksgivings and feasts held seasonally that confer the inner workings of TEK to participants. Several examples are early winter (solstice), baby bears moon (late January, early February), snow snakes (November through March), sugarbush (equinox, late March). Much of this effort is to assure a good supply of Ojibwe food and medicine during the upcoming year.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience:This Extension proposal focuses on promoting a practical level of food literacy by providing teachings and activities that enhance food security for youth, families, and community. Our educational outreach focuses on local and traditional foods and the arts in a culturally relevant context. These activities include: • Monthly community food and arts gatherings that are family-centered and youth supported • Annual seasonal camps offered in collaboration with stakeholders such as 4-H and community members Another approach to expanding the knowledge circle in food literacy will be to promote shared learning with stakeholders and community groups by hosting roundtable discussion on needs and priorities, and by offering locally written Anishinaabe food curricula in workshops and trainings. Changes/Problems:COVIDPandemic (Closures/Challenges in offering in-person workshops) January: Winter Camp canceled February: Braided Wool Rug workshop canceled What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?09/20/21 Great Lakes Food Sovereignty Symposium via Zoom 09/30/21 Economics of Soil Health Systems on 100 Farms 10/07/21 Seed Saving for Long Term Preservation 10/15/21 Proof that Regenerative Agriculture Works 10/20/21 NIFA: Webinar-Strengthening Intersections between Climate Change, Food Systems, and Nutrition Security: NIFA's Aims & Activities 10/21/21 FALCON Conference 10/22/21 FALCON Conference 10/26/22 Renew MN State Dietitian Licensure 11/12/21 Professional Development; MAND-NW meeting, 5 CEUs 11/19/21 NIFA Grant Writing Webinar (FRTEP) 01/18/22 Welcoming Seeds Home: Seed Rematriation 01/31/22 Cover Cropping for Carbon Capture in Vineyards and Orchards/The Phosphorus Paradox/The Nitrogen Solution/Building Resiliency 02/02/22 Regen Revolution Soil Summit 02/09/22 Healthy Soil's Impact on Carbon Pathways and Microbial Diversity 03/04/22 Indigenous Farming Conference 04/06/22 Food Forest Abundance 04/07/22 Understanding Soil Health 04/20/22 Proof Soil Regeneration Works 05/19/22 Food Sovereignty Symposium & Festival-Michigan 08/01/22 What You Need to Know about Melatonin 08/24/22 Cultural Medicines-Staff Training 08/24/22 The Practice of Intermittent Fasting Total Profressional Development Opportunities Provided: 22 How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Information is shared with programming partners attending the White Earth Food Sovereignty meetings. It is shared via departmental monthly reports to the WETCC President and the Board of Trustees. Program information is also shared with the White Earth Tribal Council and community during the Tribal Council Community Meetings each month and it is then shared by the Tribal Council Chair in his monthly update report in the Anishinaabeg Paper when relevent. This year, we do plan on creating a fact sheets for our plant distribution for example to show the work and community outreach we are doing. This will also provide comparison data from year to year in the growth and success of the programming provided. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We have asked for and recieved a one year extension to complete these grant goals and objectives.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1:Food Literacy - to increase the functional food literacy of youth, families, and the community by offering nonformal learning opportunities in local/traditional foods and the arts. 2021-2022 Seasonal Camps: September 13-14 (Wild Rice Camp) [80Participants] January 15-16 (Winter Camp-Canceled due to COVID) March 16th-April 30th(Sugar Bush in partnership with White Earth 4H) [46adults,34youth] March 16th-April 30th(Sugar Bush-Extension) [34Participants] July 23-24 (Berry Camp) [61Participants] Total Participation: 255 2021-22 Workshops: October (Seed Saving 101) [2Participants] November (Corn Processing-Pounding/Parching) [30Participants] December (Sausage Making 101) [20Participants] January (PDF-Dehydrating Apples) [N/A Participants] February (PDF-Homemade Blueberry Jam [N/A Participants] February (PDF-Melons-Seed Saving [N/A Participants] February (PDF-Plum Sauce [N/A Participants] February (PDF-Plum BBQ Sauce) [N/A Participants] April 4 (Garden Pollinators) [12Participants] June 18-19 (Birch Bark Harvesting w/Dana) [15Participants] Total Participation: 79 2022 Programming-Prep: July 5 (Local Foods: Strawberry Picking) [7Participants] Total Participation: 7 Objective 2:Expanding the Circle: "Training the Trainers" - Project partners and other stakeholders will increase their capacity to teach food literacy and/or traditional food knowledge/skills through "Train the Trainer" workshops. February 25 (ServSafe Training) [27Participants] March 24th-25th(Rib-Style Basketmaking) (7Participants) April 20-21 & May 5th(Gardening 101.A: Planting Instructions: Seeds & Seed Potatoes/Seed Saving/Gardening Advice May 16-17 (Gardening 101.B: Planting Instructions: Plant Starts/Brassicas & Onions) May 25th& 26th(Gardening 101.C: Planting Instructions: Tomatoes & Peppers) Total for Gardening 101: 269 August 10, 11, 15, 2022 No Knead Breadmaking (4 Participants) Total Participation: 307 Objective 3:Strengthening Programming Capacity through Relationship Building - Project sustainability will be assured by identifying new needs, creating new initiatives, and/or engaging with new partners that further the goals of this proposal, while addressing the above objectives. New Effort: Food Literacy Collaborative: U of MN Extension, Mahnomen (New Partner) U of MN Extension, White Earth 4-H WETCC Community Extension Service Status: A new collaborative effort was created, meetings held, and multi-year activities planned around youth and their families.After a few months, due to health reasons, the U of MN, Mahnomen partner could no longer participate.So, the remaining two long-term partners, continued their collaborative efforts at seasonal camps. New Effort: Food Literacy Collaborative Waubun Public School-Family Literacy Program & Science Department WETCC Community Extension Service Status: Waubun Public School-Family Literacy Program approached Extension Service to provide activities as part of their Waubun School Forest programming to teach gardening, composting, and about creating a food forest, as part of a referral from WECFM Manager.Shortly after the first meeting, one of the Extension staff was unable to provide programming activities due to health reasons.With the return of Extension staff person, a follow-up meeting will be scheduled for Spring 2022 to continue plans for activities.Update: The Family Literacy Program staff person has since transitioned to another job.Efforts have transitioned to the Waubun School Science Staff person Meetings were held in March 2022 with Science Staff for the creation of an on-site garden at the Waubun School.Seed and plant starts were provided. New Effort: Healthy Foods/Healthy Lives Collaborative Effort University of MN WETCC Community Extension Service Status: Weekly/Bi-Weekly Meetings, Quarterly Advisory Committee Meetings, Dissemination of Info Summer of 2022: Hiring of a WETCC Food Sovereignty Assistant through the U of MN HF/HL funds. New Effort: Gardening 101-Community Support for Gardening Education CES Staff & Community Partners: WENRD, White Earth Public Health, UMN-Crookston, Knutson Store, GrowShed, and Dawn Juan's Nursery: Status:2022 Gardening Season-Carrying forward Special Emphasis efforts (Distribution Sites: Mahnomen-WETCC, Rice Lake, Naytahwaush, Pine Point, White Earth, Zerkel) Seeds & Seed Packets Ordered, Received, & Packaged-CES Staff/Student Work Study worked on packaging, labeling, and creation of planting instructions during March & early April. Distribution of Seeds/Seed Potatoes (April 20th-21st& May 5th) and Plants (May 16th-17th) to community gardeners, along with Gardening Education. New replacement flats have been received and delivered to Dawn Waan's Gardens. Cool Season Plant Start Distribution: Brassicas & Onions (May 16th& 17th) Warm Season Plant Start Distribution: Tomatoes & Peppers (May 25th& 26th) Total Seed Packets Distributed: 11,000 Total Plant Starts Distributed: 5,515 New Effort: Gardening 101-Community Support for Gardening Education WETCC Community Extension Service MOMs & NAPs Program MAHUBE Waubun Public School Tree Guilds (Donated trees to create beginnings of a Food Forest) New Effort: Gardening 101-Community Support for Gardening Education WETCC Community Extension Service White Earth Elderly Nutrition Program (ENP) ENP Liasonhas had staff pick-up and deliver soil, amendments, & beds to Elder sites.(CES has provided lumber, soil & amendments). Lumber is being cut by local Amish andare delivering lumber to sites for raised bed construction Two local contractorsare completing the construction of the raised beds Total Raised Gartden Beds: 65 New Effort: Train-the-Trainer: Head Start-Kay Sunram requested food preservation training for Pickling, Hot Water Bath, Pressure Canning, as well as Seed Saving.Awaiting their response as to dates (most likely September/October 2022), which work for their staff. Total Program Participation: 648
Publications
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Progress 09/01/20 to 08/31/21
Outputs
Target Audience:Our target audience is family-centered and youth-focused for monthly food and the arts workshops and camps, with trainthe- trainer sessions focused on assisting other community programs with their professional development needs around the topic of food. Changes/Problems:Covid has been a problem and may continue to be for some time yet regarding new variants which could impact on the delivery of training and education learning opportunities. We did the best we could during this reporting period given the circumstances. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?• Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialist virtual conference • Renew state food managers certification • CYFAR Grant Writing Workshop • FALCON conference • Your Soil - Three Essential Components of Soil Health • Resetting the Food System from Farm to Fork • Sustainable Farming & Ranching in a Hotter, Drier Climate • Soil Health • Restoring Health Through Sustainable Food • Five Tenets of Soil Health • IHS Diabetes Care and Outcomes Audit 2020 Results • Microbiology and Composting • How to: Zoom Training • Cover Crops and Indigenous Corn • How Microbes Protect Plants • Sustainable Farming Association Soil Health • Soil Food Web • ACE Training • Intertribal Food & Ag Conference via Zoom • Adaptive Grazing and Silvopasture • Soil Health for Fruits and Vegetables • Soil Health Cover Crops • Distinguishing Urban Extension in the System Landscape • Emerging Research Links Gut Microbiome Alterations with Metabolic Syndrome • Farming in the World of Shifting Weather Patterns • Diabetes and Oral Health • North Central Region Mini-Land Grant Zoom Conference • Acres USA Virtual Soil Conference How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Information is shared with programming partners attending the White Earth Food Sovereignty meetings. It is shared via department monthly reports to the WETCC President and the Council of Trustees. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Objective 1.1: Eight (8) monthly (1/month) community foods/art gatherings will be held each year. Workshops 1. Seed Saving 101 1. Corn Processing 1. Sausage Making 101 1. Braided Wool Rug Making 1. Making a Grow Lab 1. Composting 1. Garden Pollinators 1. Fish Smoking Camps Fall: 2021 Rice Camp Winter: 2022 Winter Camp Spring: 2022 Sugar Bush Camp Summer: 2022 Berry Camp Objective 2: Increase capacity to teach food literacy and/or traditional food knowledge/skills through "Train the Trainer" workshops. (One (1) "Train the Trainer" workshop will be offered each quarter.) Fall: None (Note: ServSafe had to be rescheduled for February) Winter: ServSafe Spring: Wild Edibles & Making a Solar Dehydrator Summer: Food Preservation Objective 3: Increase programming capacity by identifying new needs, creating new initiatives, and/or engaging with new partners. White Earth Tribal Child Care Program: Partnering to develop a Train-the-Trainer state certified education series through Minnesota Tribal Resources for Early Childhood Care (MNTRECC) with an early childhood focus on nutrition and outdoor environments centered around cultural and Indigenous values.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The primary goal of this project is to promote a practicle level of food literacy by providing teachings and activities that enhance food security for youth, families, and community. Objective 1: Food Literacy - to increase the functional food literacy of youth, families, and the community by offering nonformal learning opportunities in local/traditional foods and the arts. Objective 2: Expanding the Circle: "Training the Trainers" - Project partners and other stakeholders will increase their capacity to teach food literacy and/or traditional food knowledge/skills through "Train the Trainer" workshops. Objective 3: Strengthening Programming Capacity through Relationship Building - Project sustainability will be ssured by identifying new needs, creating new initiatives, and/or engaging with new partners that further the goals of this proposal, while addressing the above objectives. What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1: Due to pandemic restrictions, in lieu of in-person workshops, eight (8) pdfs were created and shared with community via postings to the White Earth Tribal and Community College, Community Extension Service website. What was accomplished under these goals? 1. Making Plantain Salve (pdf) 1. Sewing Oven Mitts (pdf) 1. Making Elderberry Syrup (pdf) 1. No-Knead Breadmaking (pdf) 1. Instant Pot Squash (pdf) 1. Tomato Seed Saving (pdf) 1. Making Crockpot Tomato Paste (pdf) 1. Sauerkraut in a Jar (pdf) Once restrictions eased, the following in-person workshops were held. 1. Wild Foods Harvesting (3 sessions) 1. Birch Bark Basket Making 1. Willow Basket Making Objective 1.2: Four seasonal camps will be offered each year. Four seasonal camps were held during the 2020-2021 grant timeline. 1. Rice Camp-Sept. 2020 1. Winter Camp-January 2021 1. Sugar Bush Camp-March/April 2021 1. Berry Camp-July 2021 COVID restrictions negatively impacted the number of in-person workshops held, and as a result, the participant count was much lower than previous years. For the 2020-2021 grant year, WETCC Community Extension Service had a total 248 participants, with some duplication due to some community members attending more than one activity. The number of viewers of the instructional pdfs cannot be determined, as the software does not currently support this function. Objective 2: Topics for train-the-trainer workshops are based on feedback from local partners. The method of delivery for the seasonal workshops offered was impacted by pandemic restrictions. As a result, one of the sessions was offered via Zoom, and others at outdoor venues. 1. Fall: Venison Processing-A professional butcher demonstrated for participants how to properly process deer meat. Learning side-by-side, a local youth, who already possesses a lot of meat processing knowledge, strengthened his skills under the mentorship of the seasoned professional. 1. Winter: Corn Processing with Traditional Mortar & Pestle (via Zoom)-Taught participants about the utilization of a bootaagan (mortar) and bootaaganak (pestle) to pound corn into meal and flour. 1. Spring: Wild Harvesting- This session was offered to teach about Traditional spring foods available through foraging. Participants were taught where to look for the plants, how to harvest them, and ways to prepare or use them. Traditional knowledge was provided for the plants gathered. After foraging, a meal was prepared using these traditional foods. The meal was complimented with wild rice and venison sausage. 1. Summer: 1. Making Spaghetti Sauce with Chicken of the Woods Mushrooms: Local partner, White Earth Public Health, brought in a large chicken of the woods mushroom and asked if Extension staff would show them how to process and prepare the fungi so it could be incorporated into a healthy dish. Their staff are wanting to learn more about wild foods so they can pass the knowledge along to the Elders they work with. A homemade spaghetti sauce was created incorporating the mushroom and was added on top whole wheat penne pasta. 1. Cleaning Fish: A skilled youth taught participants how to clean fish, explaining the nuances of different techniques used for Walleye vs. Northern species of fish. A professional butcher mentored alongside and added additional information when applicable. 1. Wild Foods Harvesting: Two foraging sessions were offered to teach about traditional summer foods available through foraging. Participants were taught where to look for plants, how to harvest, and ways to prepare or use them. Traditional knowledge was provided for the plants gathered. After foraging, a meal was prepared using these traditional foods. The meal was complimented with wild rice, fish, and venison. Objective 3: 1. Waubun Public School-Family Literacy Program approached Extension Service to provide activities as part of their Waubun School Forest programming to teach gardening, composting, and about creating a food forest, as part of a referral from WECFM Manager. Shortly after the first meeting, one of the Extension staff was unable to provide programming activities due to health reasons. With the return of Extension staff person, a follow-up meeting will be scheduled for Winter 2022 to continue plans for activities. 1. Through a Healthy Foods/Healthy (HF/HL) Lives grant, WETCC CES has teamed up with the University of MN to develop an action plan to address food insecurity on the White Earth Reservation. Weekly planning meetings and quarterly advisory committee meetings are held. This study will strengthen understanding of the whole local food system and inform the next steps. ?
Publications
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Progress 09/01/19 to 08/31/20
Outputs
Target Audience: Our target audience is family-centered and youth-focused for monthly food and the arts workshops and camps, with train- the-trainer sessions focused on assisting other community programs with their professional development needs around the topic of food. Changes/Problems:Covid has been a problem and may continue to be for some time yet regarding new variants which could impact on the delivery oftrainingand education learning opportunities. We did the best we could during this reporting period given the circumstances. ? What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We had the opportunity to participate in professional development during this project period.? Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialist virtual conference Renew state food managers certification CYFAR Grant Writing Workshop FALCON conference Your Soil - Three Essential Components of Soil Health Resetting the Food System from Farm to Fork Sustainable Farming & Ranching in a Hotter, Drier Climate Soil Health Restoring Health Through Sustainable Food Five Tenets of Soil Health IHS Diabetes Care and Outcomes Audit 2020 Results Microbiology and Composting How to:Zoom Training Cover Crops and Indigenous Corn How Microbes Protect Plants Sustainable Farming Association Soil Health Soil Food Web ACE Training Intertribal Food & Ag Conference via Zoom Adaptive Grazing andSilvopasture Soil Health for Fruits and Vegetables Soil Health Cover Crops Distinguishing Urban Extension in the System Landscape Emerging Research Links Gut Microbiome Alterations with Metabolic Syndrome Farming in the World of Shifting Weather Patterns Diabetes and Oral Health North Central Region Mini-Land Grant Zoom Conference Acres USA Virtual Soil Conference How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Information is sharedwith programming partners attendingthe White Earth Food Sovereignty meetings. It is shared via department monthly reports to the WETCC President and the Council of Trustees. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Objective 1.1: Eight (8) monthly (1/month) community foods/art gatherings will be held each year. Workshops Seed Saving 101 Corn Processing Sausage Making 101 Braided Wool Rug Making Making a Grow Lab Composting Garden Pollinators Fish Smoking Camps Fall:2021 Rice Camp Winter:2022 Winter Camp Spring:2022 Sugar Bush Camp Summer:2022 Berry Camp Objective 2: Increase capacity to teach food literacy and/or traditional food knowledge/skills through "Train the Trainer" workshops. (One (1) "Train the Trainer" workshop will be offered each quarter.) Fall:None (Note:ServSafehad to be rescheduled for February) Winter:ServSafe Spring:Wild Edibles & Making a Solar Dehydrator Summer:Food Preservation Objective 3: Increase programming capacity byidentifyingnew needs, creating new initiatives, and/or engaging with new partners. White Earth Tribal Child Care Program: Partnering to develop a Train-the-Trainerstate certified educationseriesthrough Minnesota Tribal Resources for Early Childhood Care (MNTRECC)withanearly childhoodfocusonnutrition and outdoor environmentscentered around cultural and Indigenous values.?
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1: Due to pandemic restrictions,in lieu of in-person workshops,eight (8)pdfs were createdandshared with community via postings totheWhite Earth Tribal and Community College,Community Extension Servicewebsite. Making Plantain Salve (pdf) Sewing Oven Mitts (pdf) Making Elderberry Syrup (pdf) No-Knead Breadmaking (pdf) Instant Pot Squash (pdf) Tomato Seed Saving (pdf) Making Crockpot Tomato Paste (pdf) Sauerkraut in a Jar (pdf) Once restrictions eased, thefollowingin-person workshops were held. Wild Foods Harvesting(3 sessions) Birch Bark Basket Making Willow Basket Making Objective 1.2: Four seasonal camps will be offered each year. Four seasonal camps were held during the 2020-2021 grant timeline. Rice Camp-Sept. 2020 Winter Camp-January 2021 Sugar Bush Camp-March/April 2021 Berry Camp-July 2021 COVID restrictionsnegativelyimpactedthe number of in-person workshopsheld,and as a result, the participant count was much lower than previous years.For the 2020-2021 grant year, WETCC Community Extension Servicehad a total 248 participants, with someduplication due to some community members attending more than one activity.Thenumber of viewers of theinstructional pdfs cannot bedetermined,as the software does notcurrentlysupport this function. Objective 2: Topics for train-the-trainer workshops are based on feedback from local partners.Themethodofdelivery forthe seasonalworkshopsofferedwasimpactedby pandemic restrictions.As a result,one ofthe sessionswasofferedvia Zoom,and others at outdoor venues. Fall:Venison Processing-A professional butcherdemonstratedfor participants how to properly process deer meat.Learning side-by-side, a local youth, who alreadypossessesalot of meat processing knowledge, strengthened his skills under the mentorship of the seasoned professional. Winter:Corn Processing with Traditional Mortar & Pestle(via Zoom)-Taught participants about theutilizationof abootaagan(mortar)andbootaaganak(pestle)to pound corn into meal and flour. Spring:Wild Harvesting-This session was offered to teach about Traditional spring foods availablethroughforaging. Participants were taught where to look for theplants, how to harvest them, and ways to prepare or use them.Traditional knowledge wasprovidedfor the plants gathered.After foraging, a meal was prepared usingthesetraditional foods. The meal was complimentedwith wild rice and venisonsausage. Summer: Making Spaghetti Sauce with Chicken of the Woods Mushrooms:Local partner, White EarthPublicHealth, brought in alargechicken of the woods mushroom and asked if Extension staff would show them how to process and prepare the fungiso it could be incorporated into a healthy dish.Their staff are wanting to learn more about wild foods sothey can pass the knowledge along to the Elders they work with.Ahomemade spaghetti saucewas created incorporating the mushroom and was addedontopwholewheatpennepasta. Cleaning Fish: A skilled youthtaught participants how to clean fish, explaining the nuances of different techniques used forWalleye vs.Northernspecies of fish.A professional butcher mentored alongside and addedadditionalinformation when applicable. Wild Foods Harvesting:Twoforagingsessionswere offeredtoteach abouttraditional summer foods availablethroughforaging.Participants were taught where to look for plants, how to harvest, and ways to prepareor usethem.Traditional knowledge wasprovidedfor the plants gathered.After foraging, a meal was prepared usingthesetraditional foods. The meal was complimentedwith wild rice, fish,and venison. Objective 3: Waubun Public School-Family Literacy Program approached Extension Service toprovideactivities as part of their Waubun School Forest programming to teach gardening, composting, and about creating a food forest, as part of a referral from WECFM Manager.Shortly after the first meeting, one of the Extension staff was unable toprovideprogramming activities due to health reasons.With the return of Extension staff person, a follow-up meeting will be scheduled for Winter 2022 to continue plans for activities. Through a Healthy Foods/Healthy(HF/HL)Lives grant,WETCCCEShasteamed up with the University of MN todevelopan action planto address food insecurity on the White Earth Reservation.Weeklyplanning meetingsandquarterlyadvisorycommitteemeetingsareheld.Thisstudy willstrengthenunderstanding of the wholelocalfood systemand informthenextsteps.
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Progress 09/01/18 to 08/31/19
Outputs
Target Audience:Our target audience is family-centered and youth-focused for monthly food and the arts workshops and camps, with train-the-trainer sessions focused on assisting other community programs with their professional development needs around the topic of food. Changes/Problems:COVID-19 has been a major problem for all of the world as it has changed the way we live, function as a community member and how we work and how to deliver our work. It has changed how we plan our work, the number of people over the course of this reporting period we can have in a group for our activities outlined in our goals and objectives. COVID-19has impacted on future grant activities as COVID-19 is rising again. Other indoor-based workshops, which were planned for the spring, had to be canceled due to COVID-19, as time was neededto develop new plans to address safety and look at alternative methods for offering programming. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? ServSafe Renewal Certification, 09/10/2019-09/11/2019 Virtual Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialist (ADCES20) Annual Conference. 8/13/2020-8/16/2020 and 9/17/2020-9/18/2020. (36.5 CEUs) FALCON 2019: 10/25/2019-10/28/2019 Bullrush Mat Weaving, 11/25/2019 Corn Nixtamalization Process 01/14/20 Food Justice workshop. 1/21/2020-1/22/2020 Tortilla Making 01/27/2020 NIFA Program Management-Webinar 01/30/2020 Native Arts Convening. 2/5/2020-2/8/2020 Culture Conference Medicinal Teas. 2/11/2020 Hypertension and Lipid Management- A Patient Centered Approach to CDV Risk Reduction. 2/13/2020 (1 CEU) Non-Insulin Medications for Hyperglycemia Treatment in Type 2 Diabetes. 2/26/2020 (1 CEU) Native Centered Nutrition. 3/11/2020 Mindful Eating Basics. 3/4/2020 (1 CEU) Indigenous Farming Conference. 3/6/2020-3/8/2020 Diabetes Education: New and Innovative Tools from DDTP. 3/18/2020 (1 CEU) Deep Winter Greenhouse Growing (1). 5/28/2020 Immune Health and COVID 19. 5/29/2020 (1 CEU) Deep Winter Greenhouse Growing (2). 6/2/2020 Deep Winter Greenhouse Farm Scale (1). 6/3/2020 Deep Winter Greenhouse Farm Scale (2). 6/5/2020 Individualizing Care for People with Progressive Kidney Disease. 7/8/2020 (1 CEU) Certified Food Protection Manager. Renewed 8/31/2020 (4 CEUs) How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Extension Service has regular meetings with partners, at which goals, activities, experiences, and plans are shared.Partners include: University of MN, 4-H (Mahnomen & White Earth) and SNAP-Ed; the Mahnomen County Garden Club; White Earth Wellness, SNAP-Ed, White Earth Community Farmers' Market; White Earth Natural Resources Department, Ag Program/White Earth Food Sovereignty Initiative (WFSI); and Gizhiigan Arts Center. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Develop new methods to provide online programming and increase communication with community and stakeholders in an effort to address COVID limitations; focus some of the professional development activities on gaining technological skills needed to produce online programming and gain participant feedback through webinar learning opportunities and partner/peer support; determine software/technology is needed to accomplish goals; strengthen web presence by allotting more time to keeping website current and expanding the kinds of media platforms utilized.Strengthen program data collection, evaluation, and assessment through training of Extension staff, by revisiting data collection methods and looking for ways to streamline the process, plus updating data collection methods to accommodate feedback for online activities.Work with partners to update common goals and develop MOUs.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1: Community participation in Extension educational offerings was a combination of community workshops, gardening, and student work study learning opportunities.The total number of participants served is 308, with 240 adults and 68 youth.Workshops included: making sauerkraut, pickled carrots, no-knead bread, and natural teas; a nutrition presentation; a community traditional foods cook-off; plus, traditional ways of preparing foods, such as making a bootaagan (mortar) & bootaaganaak (pestle) for pounding corn and wild rice into meal and flour; and how to make handmade items for working with food, such as aprons, potholders, and oven mitts. In an effort to expand our communications tools, an online video was created in collaboration with one of our partners to show how to prepare a turkey dinner utilizing a turkey meal kit offered through a White Earth program.WETCC student learning activities included topics such as making apple butter, zucchini pickles, planting garlic, and how to transplant strawberries; other cultural activities held include: winter storytelling, star knowledge, snow snakes, dandelion salve making, wool felting, moccasin games and teachings, lacrosse sticks demo, and hand drum making. Objective 2: Fall Quarter (Sept./Oct./Nov.):Requested by the White Earth Wellness Program as a training for their staff, aCanning: Jams & Jelliesworkshop was held at WETCC Extension on 11/05/19. Winter Quarter (Dec./Jan./Feb.):Canning continues to be a high interest subject, and how to process meat for long-term storage is often brought up by community.Partnering again with the White Earth Wellness Program, on 12/07/20 a hands-on "Canning Venison" workshop was held on how to properly process a deer and prepare the meat for freezing and canning, which was taught by a professional butcher.Our on-staff nutritionist then taught the group how to pressure can the venison. Another Winter Quarter session was held in two parts with project partner, White Earth Natural Resources Department-Ag Program at WETCC Extension:Corn Nixtamalizationwas held on 01/14/20 to learn how to process corn to make it more digestible and on 01/29/20 aTortilla Makingsession was held utilizing the processed corn. Spring Quarter (Mar./Apr./May):The traditional skill of making Bootaagan (wooden mortar) and Bootaaganaak (wooden pestle) for the processing of wild rice and corn into flour and meal was held at White Earth on March 12thand 13th, 2020.This 'train-the-trainer' session was a prelude to a community workshop held March 14thand 15th, 2020, at which the newly trained participants assisted others in learning the craft. Summer Quarter (Jun./Jul./Aug.):Natural Teas and Wild Foods Gathering: Two field trips, held 08/07/20 and 08/10/20, were held with project partner, U of MN, White Earth 4-H to learn about traditional foods and medicines growing in various locations around the Reservation. Objective 3:Meetings with our program partners, Mahnomen 4-H/SNAP and White Earth 4-H from the U of MN, has led to a new initiative around a commonality of effort we all share, the topic of food.Titled, the'Food Literacy Collaborative', the purpose of this endeavor is to engage families in learning opportunities, which expand their knowledge of topics such as"What is healthy, local and traditional food?","Where does our food comes from and how it is processed/prepared?", and"Where can healthy food be sourced locally?".Some of the planned activities include learning how to garden, ideas for healthier food options through recipes and hands-on food preparation, seasonal camps, and field trips.Virtual planning meetings were held and a list of ideas developed for monthly, family-based activities. 2020 has been a year of change and challenges.The COVID pandemic and the earlier than expected planned leave of one of the program partners necessitated a change in the number and types of activities offered, as it took time to regroup and develop safety protocols.As a result, only outdoor activities were held.Collaborative activities include the dispersal of cucumber seeds to the community as part of the 'One Vegetable, One Community' program; hands-on learning at the WETCC Community Garden site, where garden plots, tools, seed, plant starts were provided; and field trips, which included harvesting both cultivated and wild berries.
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